Deck 18: The Trans-Mississippi West

Question 1

The Edmunds Act and Edmunds-Tucker Act were both aimed at __________.

A) attacking the Mormon Church and its practices
B) granting individual homesteads to reservation Indians
C) opening federal lands for mining
D) providing funding for western railroads

Answer 1

attacking the Mormon Church and its practices

Question 2

The most important food resource for Great Plains tribes such as the Sioux was __________.

A) cattle and sheep herds
B) corn fields
C) bison, or buffalo
D) rations issued by the Army

Answer 2

bison, or buffalo

Question 3

The 1889 land rush __________.

A) opened the last Indian-controlled part of Oklahoma for white settlement
B) only opened a western strip of Oklahoma not assigned to any tribe
C) forced the Cherokee and Choctaw to abandon their lands
D) was met with widespread violent Indian resistance

Answer 3

only opened a western strip of Oklahoma not assigned to any tribe

Question 4

The Sioux were granted the Black Hills "as long as the grass shall grow" under the __________.

A) Treaty of Fort Laramie
B) Medicine Lodge Treaty
C) Curtis Act
D) Dawes Severalty Act

Question 5

Cattle ranchers responded to the growing numbers of farmers and sheepherders in the West in the 1880s by __________.

A) lobbying Congress to slow migration to the West
B) reaching amicable agreements with the newcomers
C) getting out of the cattle business and joining the farmers and sheepherders
D) destroying fences put up by the farmers and sheepherders

Question 6

The Santa Fe Ring was a group of land speculators, lawyers, and politicians who __________.

A) extorted money from the Bureau of Indian Affairs
B) benefited from the Timber Culture Act
C) cheated Mexicanos out of their landholdings
D) negotiated the Gadsden Purchase for their railroad route

Question 7

The appearance of groups such as Las Gorras Blancas and El Alianzo Hispano-Americano indicated that __________.

A) Anglos were not able to exert influence in the Mexicano community
B) Mexicano and Anglo culture was blending in border areas
C) new literary alliances were being formed in the Mexicano community
D) Mexicanos were challenging the rising Anglo presence

Question 8

The Cherokee responded to pressure from whites by __________.

A) retreating as far into the deserts as possible
B) learning English, becoming Christians, and adopting farming
C) launching repeated raids on white settlements
D) fleeing to Canada

Question 9

One result of the mining boom in the West was __________.

A) the creation of strong and effective unions
B) careful regard for preserving the environment
C) permanent towns with stable community life
D) a diverse labor force, including Chinese, Mexicans, and Indians

Question 10

After several moves, where did the remnants of the Nez Perce tribe end up after surrendering?

A) Washington
B) Michigan
C) Oregon
D) Oklahoma

Question 11

The Five Civilized Tribes' jurisdiction over tribal lands was abolished by the __________.

A) Curtis Act
B) Homestead Act of 1862
C) Treaty of Fort Laramie
D) Edmunds Act

Question 12

The cattle drives in the 1860s-1870s would not have been possible without __________.

A) steamship transport from the Texas coast to New York City
B) rail lines to eastern markets
C) new laws establishing American ownership of range cattle
D) the Homestead Act

Question 13

The demise of the western cattle barons was brought about largely because of __________.

A) overgrazing and extreme weather conditions
B) competition from Argentina
C) cattle diseases
D) unionization by cowboys

Question 14

The Oklahoma Land Rush of 1889 __________.

A) was a unique event in displacing Indians from their lands
B) reversed federal Indian policy that had been in place since the 1830s
C) brought civilization to what had been an undeveloped wasteland
D) occurred without the authorization of Congress

Question 15

The Great Plains were often referred to by early explorers as __________.

A) "the Wild West"
B) "the American Primitive"
C) "the Great American Desert"
D) "the Open Range"

Question 16

The Mormons' most controversial practice was __________.

A) granting citizenship to Indians
B) allowing women to be priests
C) polygamy
D) equal distribution of property

Question 17

Sand Creek was the scene of __________.

A) an unprovoked massacre of Cheyenne Indians by Colorado Volunteers
B) a bloody battle between the Cheyenne and the Sioux
C) a treaty of friendship between the Cheyenne and the citizens of Colorado
D) an unprovoked massacre of white soldiers by the Sioux

Question 18

After settling in Utah in the 1840s, the Mormons __________.

A) established hundreds of communities from Oregon to Mexico
B) were granted federal recognition as a sovereign state
C) mostly migrated into Mexico to escape U.S. jurisdiction
D) quickly conformed to mainstream American practices

Question 19

In most cattle and mining towns, prostitution was __________.

A) not only legal, but also encouraged
B) almost nonexistent
C) illegal, but the laws were rarely enforced
D) legal, but strictly regulated

Question 20

After defeating Custer at Little Big Horn, Sioux chief Sitting Bull reportedly made which of these statements?

A) "Now they will leave us alone forever."
B) "Now they will never let us rest."
C) "Now all the whites will leave."
D) "We are a free people now."

Question 21

The reformers' intention in the reservation policy and the Dawes Act was to __________.

A) protect Indian culture
B) curtail white settlement
C) restore Indian-governed tribal lands
D) assimilate individual Indians into white culture

Question 22

Treaties with the Sioux and Nez Perces were broken when whites __________.

A) wanted to build railroads through their lands
B) found gold on their lands
C) were massacred by Indian war bands
D) began the Oklahoma Land Rush

Question 23

The Navajo and Hopi are examples of tribal groups that __________.

A) vanished under white pressure
B) assimilated and merged into white society
C) held onto their lands and survived by adapting
D) became dependents of the Office of Indian Affairs

Question 24

The people who benefited most from the Homestead Act were the __________.

A) employees of the Government Land Office
B) land speculators
C) cattle barons
D) homesteaders

Question 25

Because European immigrants to the Great Plains in the late 1800s tended to marry within their own groups and retained their native languages for several generations, they __________.

A) formed tight-knit, ethnically distinctive communities
B) sought full assimilation into the American culture
C) believed in social equality between different ethnic groups
D) settled as individual families isolated on solitary homesteads

Question 26

On the Great Plains, the most successful farmers were those with __________.

A) money and political power
B) good rail access
C) large families
D) close community ties

Question 27

The leader of the Nez Perce tribe in 1877 was __________.

A) Red Cloud
B) Chief Joseph
C) Geronimo
D) Sitting Bull

Question 28

The Homestead Act granted 160 acres of public domain to any settler who __________.

A) was willing to pay $5 an acre
B) would live on the land for five years and improve it
C) had served in the military for two years
D) was willing to share his produce with the government

Question 29

The Dawes Severalty Act incorporated many of the ideas of __________.

A) Cyrus McCormick
B) Charles Russell
C) John Wesley Powell
D) Helen Hunt Jackson

Question 30

Under human use, the natural environment of the West __________.

A) prospered and grew
B) was destroyed or significantly degraded
C) became more diversified
D) produced abundant new species of plant and animal life

Question 31

John Deere is famous for inventing a __________.

A) reaper
B) singing plow
C) cultivator
D) disease-proof strain of wheat

Question 32

At the close of the Civil War, most Indians in the trans-Mississippi West lived in __________.

A) the Southwest
B) Texas
C) Indian Territory
D) the Great Plains

Question 33

The widespread settlement of the farming west would not have been possible without __________.

A) the railroad
B) electric well pumps
C) improved corn and wheat hybrids
D) strict immigration laws

Question 34

The Ghost Dance of Paiute prophet Wovoka was intended to __________.

A) restore the Indian peoples and make the whites disappear
B) convert all Indians to Christianity
C) teach Plains Indians to farm
D) make peace with white settlers and soldiers

Question 35

In what state did the most intensive development of agribusiness occur by 1900?

A) Colorado
B) Washington
C) California
D) Wyoming

Question 36

Unlike European immigrants, native-born American settlers of the Great Plains tended to __________.

A) form tight-knit distinctive communities
B) look for secluded areas to form colonies
C) add to the violence and instability of the West
D) settle as individual families isolated on solitary homesteads

Question 37

The first national park in the United States was __________.

A) Yellowstone
B) Yosemite
C) Grand Canyon
D) Glacier

Question 38

What environmentally damaging policy was supported by the 1902 Newlands or National Reclamation Act?

A) irrigation of farm lands
B) hard rock mining
C) desert cattle ranching
D) eradication of "pest" wolves and coyotes

Question 39

By 1900, what group in California played the same role as poor black sharecroppers in the South?

A) Irish
B) Mexicans
C) Chinese
D) Scandinavians

Question 40

Pima cooperation with white settlers brought them __________.

A) more favorable status and treaty lands
B) impoverishment
C) land and political favor
D) exclusion from the Dawes Act

Question 41

Plains Indians adopted which of the following from Europeans?

A) horse riding and guns
B) sedentary agriculture and buffalo hunting
C) fur trading and tobacco use
D) mining and ranching

Question 42

Compare the real West to the mythic West. What made the myth of the West so compelling to so many people?

Question 43

In 1830, Congress passed the Indian Removal Act, which provided funds to __________.

A) place all North American Indians in reservations
B) relocate all eastern tribes by force if necessary to Indian Territory
C) encourage eastern tribes to voluntarily move west
D) allow white farmers to purchase Indian lands

Question 44

Army commanders encouraged the slaughter of buffalo herds because they thought __________.

A) they could profit from the sale of buffalo hides
B) it would be a good way to supplement Army food supplies
C) it would lead to the total extermination of all Indian peoples
D) it would break tribal resistance to the reservation system

Question 45

Albert Bierstadt was a founding member of the __________.

A) Populist Party
B) Knights of Labor
C) Rocky Mountain School
D) Grange

Question 46

What were the root causes of the Indian Wars? Were these wars inevitable? Why or why not?

Question 47

Which of these explains why it was so important for farm families to cooperate with each other on the Great Plains?

A) the relative inexperience of most newcomers to the region
B) the endemic violence of the region
C) the danger posed by Indian peoples
D) the harsh climate and unyielding soil of the region

Question 48

The 1874 discovery of which precious resource in the Black Hills led to the Great Sioux War of 1876‒1877?

A) gold
B) silver
C) oil
D) coal

Question 49

What did Annie Oakley and Sitting Bull have in common?

A) They both performed in Buffalo Bill's Wild West show.
B) They both were orphans.
C) They both died violent deaths.
D) They both wrote famous memoirs.

Question 50

Under the Treaty of Fort Laramie, what did Oglala Sioux warrior Red Cloud accomplish for his people?

A) The federal government granted the Sioux the right to occupy the Black Hills.
B) The federal government recognized the Sioux's own rights of conquest over other Indian tribes and allowed them to keep their rivals' hunting lands.
C) Military forts and white settlements were banned along the Bozeman Trail, the Sioux's principal buffalo range.
D) The federal government granted the Sioux safe passage, so they could peacefully resettle in Canada.

Question 51

Why did the Homestead Act fail in its purpose of peopling the west with small family farms?

Question 52

The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo allowed the Hispanic people north of the Rio Grande to choose between __________.

A) immigrating to Mexico or staying in the United States
B) selling their land or being forced off it
C) renouncing their Mexican citizenship or being forced onto reservations
D) converting to Protestantism or leaving the United States

Question 53

How did the Hopis and Zunis of the Southwest adapt to increasing European encroachment?

A) by intensifying trade with neighboring Mexican communities
B) by migrating farther westward
C) by learning English and adopting Christianity
D) by fighting neighboring tribes to gain control of more land

Question 54

How did life change in the Mexican borderlands over the course of the second half of the nineteenth century? How did the Mexicano community on the American side of the border respond to these changes?

Question 55

After the arrival of Europeans, what factor gave western tribes a margin of survival far greater than that of their eastern counterparts?

A) geographic isolation
B) military skill
C) economic organization
D) cultural flexibility

Question 56

Relationships in Great Plains communities that developed in the late nineteenth century were __________.

A) the result of intermarriage and social mixing among various ethnic groups
B) based on where one came from in the eastern United States
C) usually governed by a regimented social hierarchy
D) inclusive of local Indian residents

Question 57

How did the Navajo and Hopi manage to adapt, survive, and even grow as a culture?

Question 58

After the Civil War, violent crime, assault, and robbery rose sharply __________.

A) in the East, but not in the West
B) in the West, but not in the East
C) throughout the United States
D) in the South, but not in the North

Question 59

In mining boomtowns known as "Helldorados," __________.

A) miners set up communities that were very similar to small towns in the east
B) men outnumbered women by as much as 10 to 1
C) racial diversity did not lead to racial conflict
D) the town center was usually a church

Question 60

Like other parts of the West, the cattle range was __________.

A) under the direct and firm control of federal officials
B) settled by family groups
C) densely populated
D) ethnically diverse

Question 61

By the end of the nineteenth century, many Americans' perception of the West was primarily shaped by __________.

A) legend rather than reality
B) the peaceful coexistence of Indians and white settlers
C) the cultural diversity of African Americans, Chinese immigrants, and Mexican-American settlers living in that region
D) the limited economic opportunities available to new settlers

Question 62

Which industry, more than any other, brought the West into the global economy of capital, commodities, and labor?

A) mining
B) timber
C) steel
D) cattle ranching

Question 63

After the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848, communities along the Rio Grande constructed relationships between whites and Hispanics that emphasized economic and social __________.

A) interdependence
B) integration and assimilation
C) tension and competition
D) disengagement and divergence

Question 64

What 1887 federal legislation authorized the establishment of state experimental stations designed to conduct agricultural research?

A) Hatch Act
B) Edmunds Act
C) Morrill Act
D) Homestead Act

Question 65

Which group or groups primarily benefited from western labor union activity at the end of the nineteenth century?

A) white workers
B) white and Asian workers
C) all workers except Asians and African Americans
D) all workers, regardless of ethnic background

Question 66

The Morrill Act of 1862 contributed to western agricultural development by __________.

A) creating land-grant colleges focused on agricultural programs
B) funding a series of state-based experimental agriculture stations
C) funding scientific research into agricultural technology
D) opening up more public land for settlement

Question 67

Who were the vaqueros?

A) Mexican cowboys
B) African American cowboys
C) Anglo cowboys
D) Indian cowboys

Question 68

German-born artist Albert Bierstadt was most famous for his paintings of _________.

A) America's natural beauty
B) immigrants, soldiers, and sailors
C) Civil War battles
D) African American families

Question 69

Which statement most accurately describes the demographic makeup of the cattle-drive workers in the mid-nineteenth-century United States?

A) Although primarily male and white, the population was diverse, including large numbers of African Americans, Mexicans, and Indians.
B) The population was extremely diverse, split evenly between men and women and among whites, Indians, and Mexicans.
C) The population was almost completely male, and either white or Mexican.
D) Although evenly split between men and women, the population was mostly white and included only small numbers of Indians, Mexicans, and African Americans.

Question 70

Which western industry's union efforts led to legislation mandating an eight-hour workday in Idaho, Arizona, and New Mexico by the early twentieth century?

A) mining
B) ranching
C) timber
D) smelting

Question 71

What factor most encouraged cowboys to engage in reckless spending at the end of a drive?

A) the pay system, which gave each cowboy his lump-sum wage at each drive's conclusion
B) frequent opportunities to challenge rivals in gunfights
C) purchasing new horses for the return home
D) investing in new agricultural developments, such as barbed wire fencing

Question 72

Which factor was crucial to agricultural expansion and development in the Great Plains?

A) improved transportation and farming technology
B) massive migration into the area from the eastern United States and Europe
C) discovery of gold and other precious natural resources
D) abundant natural resources, such as water and fertile soil

Question 73

In the 1880s and 1890s, which group unleashed violence as a means of maintaining their control over grazing lands across the West?

A) ranchers
B) farmers
C) Sioux warriors
D) Mormons

Question 74

Under the Homestead Act of 1862, how many acres of land were offered free to settlers who lived on the land for at least five years and improved it?

A) 160 acres
B) 1,000 acres
C) 40 acres
D) 200 acres

Question 75

Why did young, single women often become prostitutes in cattle towns and mining settlements?

A) Faced with high living costs and few work options, many young, unmarried women entered prostitution.
B) Prostitution was a well-regulated profession that offered women a stable place to live and superior health care.
C) Young women saw prostitution as a path to wealth due to its high profitability, particularly in cattle towns and mining settlements.
D) Due to their low numbers, young women were able to achieve the wage rates needed to meet the high cost of living in the new western towns.

Question 76

In the late nineteenth century, the federal government began setting aside huge tracts of wilderness in the West, and in 1872 Congress created the first __________.

A) national park
B) agricultural college
C) Indian reservation
D) national historical association

Question 77

How did John Deere's "singing plow" impact the agricultural productivity of the West?

A) It made sod busting much easier.
B) It was much more affordable than earlier versions.
C) Because of its design, it was easily transported west on the new rail lines.
D) It mechanized harvesting.

Question 78

Which statement best summarizes the "frontier thesis"?

A) Continuous expansion set new standards for democracy, strengthened individual character, and fostered a collective identity.
B) As the "free" land in the West was depleted, Americans were forced to embrace technology, and thus continuous expansion fostered the growth of American business.
C) Continuous western settlement tested the standards for democracy, although it helped develop the rugged individualism that is part of the collective American identity.
D) The depletion of available land in the West brought to an end the period in U.S. history that emphasized individualism and strength of character over democracy.

Question 79

How did Wild West shows of William "Buffalo Bill" Cody contribute to making the Wild West a staple of American popular culture?

A) These popular shows introduced millions of people to idealized images of the West, such as a female sharpshooter, stagecoach robberies, and Indians.
B) The shows concentrated on the primitive conditions of the wilderness and thereby helped define an American collective identity based on individualism.
C) These shows captured Americans' attention just before the Civil War, providing Americans with much-needed diversionary entertainment during a stressful time.
D) The popularity of the shows spawned a series of spin-off industries, including musicals and dance shows, keeping the images of the Wild West in the public eye for many years to come.

Question 80

Which of these best explains the surge in immigration into the United States from Mexico that began in the late 1870s?

A) the policies of Mexican president Porfirio Diaz
B) new U.S. immigration laws allowing easier entry into the United States
C) an increase in violence and banditry along the Mexican border
D) a series of poor harvests throughout most of Mexico